The roof of a vehicle is in general supported by pillars, commonly known as A-pillar, B-pillar, C-pillar and sometimes D-pillar, and roof rails and roof bows. The pillars are located between the windows and doors of the vehicle. The B-pillar is an important element in determining roof strength and the degree of side impact intrusion.
Certain existing B-pillar roof structures include a B-pillar outer upper bracket and a separate B-pillar inner upper bracket, which together are connected to a roof rail and a roof bow. In this assembly the inner and outer brackets need to be welded. In addition, the roof bow is only connected to the B-pillar inner upper bracket. These result in relatively lower stiffness in the resultant roof structure.
It would thus be advantageous if a vehicle roof structure may be provided to solve one or more of these identified problems.